Ignatius Isaac II ( syr, ܐܝܣܚܩ ܥܐܙܐܪ, ar, اسحق بطريارك انطاكية) was the

Patriarch of Antioch Patriarch of Antioch is a traditional title held by the bishop of Antioch (modern-day Antakya, Turkey). As the traditional "overseer" (ἐπίσκοπος, ''episkopos'', from which the word ''bishop'' is derived) of the first gentile Christian c ...

and head of the

Syriac Orthodox Church , native_name_lang = syc , image = St_George_Syriac_orthodox_church_in_Damascus.jpg , imagewidth = 250 , alt = Cathedral of Saint George , caption = Cathedral of Saint George, Damascus ...

from 1709 until his resignation in 1723.

Biography

Isaac ʿAzar was born at

Mosul Mosul ( ar, الموصل, al-Mawṣil, ku, مووسڵ, translit=Mûsil, Turkish: ''Musul'', syr, ܡܘܨܠ, Māwṣil) is a major city in northern Iraq, serving as the capital of Nineveh Governorate. The city is considered the second large ...

in 1647, and was the son of Maqdisi 'Azar and Maryam. He had brothers named

Matthew Matthew may refer to: * Matthew (given name) * Matthew (surname) * ''Matthew'' (ship), the replica of the ship sailed by John Cabot in 1497 * ''Matthew'' (album), a 2000 album by rapper Kool Keith * Matthew (elm cultivar), a cultivar of the Ch ...

and Jacob, and two uncles,

George George may refer to: People * George (given name) * George (surname) * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Washington, First President of the United States * George W. Bush, 43rd Presiden ...

and Rizq Allah, through his mother. Isaac became a monk at the nearby monastery of Saint Matthew, where he and his uncle George were both ordained as priests in 1669 by Basil Yeldo,

Maphrian of the East The Maphrian ( syr, ܡܦܪܝܢܐ, maphryānā or ''maphryono''), originally known as the Grand Metropolitan of the East and also known as the Catholicos, was the second-highest rank in the ecclesiastical hierarchy of the Syriac Orthodox Church, ...

. In 1673, Isaac and George aided Basil Yeldo in renovating the monastery of Saint Matthew, for which the three of them were imprisoned by the governor of Mosul for a short while. Basil Yeldo appointed Isaac as the abbot of the monastery of Saint Matthew in 1675, and he was later ordained as archbishop of the monastery of Saint Matthew by Patriarch Ignatius Abdulmasih I in early 1684 at the monastery of Saint Ananias, upon which he assumed the name Severus. This took place at the same time as George's ordination as Basil Yeldo's successor as Maphrian of the East. In April 1687, Isaac was ordained as Maphrian of the East at the Great Church of

Mardin Mardin ( ku, Mêrdîn; ar, ماردين; syr, ܡܪܕܝܢ, Merdīn; hy, Մարդին) is a city in southeastern Turkey. The capital of Mardin Province, it is known for the Artuqid architecture of its old city, and for its strategic location on ...

by his uncle George, who had been elevated to patriarch of Antioch at the same time, upon which he assumed the name Basil. Throughout George's tenure as patriarch, Isaac was entrusted with the administration of the whole church, and thus he ordained several bishops and a number of presbyters, deacons and monks. At Amida, he rebuilt the church of Saint Jacob in 1691, and renovated the church of Saint Mary in 1693, and added the nave of Saint

Jacob of Serugh Jacob of Sarug ( syr, ܝܥܩܘܒ ܣܪܘܓܝܐ, ''Yaʿquḇ Sruḡāyâ'', ; his toponym is also spelled ''Serug'' or ''Serugh''; la, Iacobus Sarugiensis; 451 – 29 November 521), also called Mar Jacob, was one of the foremost Syriac poet-theo ...

, on instruction from the patriarch. In 1701, he received permission from the Ottoman government to rebuild the churches of Mardin after having travelled to

Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...

and other places, accompanied by the priest Shukrallah. Whilst Isaac was at

Aleppo )), is an adjective which means "white-colored mixed with black". , motto = , image_map = , mapsize = , map_caption = , image_map1 = ...

, George died on 5 June 1708. A synod was subsequently held at the monastery of Saint Ananias in 1709, with Maphrian Basil Lazarus of

Tur Abdin Tur Abdin ( syr, ܛܽܘܪ ܥܰܒ݂ܕܺܝܢ or ܛܘܼܪ ܥܲܒ݂ܕܝܼܢ, Ṭūr ʿAḇdīn) is a hilly region situated in southeast Turkey, including the eastern half of the Mardin Province, and Şırnak Province west of the Tigris, on the borde ...

presiding, and Isaac was unanimously chosen to succeed George as patriarch of Antioch. After having received a

firman A firman ( fa, , translit=farmân; ), at the constitutional level, was a royal mandate or decree issued by a sovereign in an Islamic state. During various periods they were collected and applied as traditional bodies of law. The word firman com ...

from the Ottoman government recognising his ascension to the patriarchal office, Isaac was consecrated as patriarch by Basil Lazarus at Amida on 8 February 1709, upon which he assumed the name Ignatius. Isaac served as patriarch until ill health led him to resign, and, as a result, a synod was convened at the monastery of Saint Ananias on 20 July 1723, at which Dionysius Shukrallah, archbishop of Aleppo, was elected as patriarch with Isaac's approval. Isaac returned to Mosul, where he died on 11 or 18 July 1724, and was buried in his father's mausoleum at the Church of Saint Thomas. As maphrian and patriarch, Isaac ordained seventeen bishops.

Works

At the time of the reconstruction of the church of Saint Jacob at Amida in 1691, Isaac issued a decree on behalf of the Shamsis, a small former sun-worshipping sect that had joined the Syriac Orthodox Church yet faced suspicion, to attest to their adherence to the Church. The decree was a copy of a document written by the monk David of

Homs Homs ( , , , ; ar, حِمْص / ALA-LC: ; Levantine Arabic: / ''Ḥomṣ'' ), known in pre-Islamic Syria as Emesa ( ; grc, Ἔμεσα, Émesa), is a city in western Syria and the capital of the Homs Governorate. It is Metres above sea level ...

in c. 1460; it was later found by Patriarch

Ignatius George V Ignatius is a male given name and a surname. Notable people with the name include: Given name Religious * Ignatius of Antioch (35–108), saint and martyr, Apostolic Father, early Christian bishop * Ignatius of Constantinople (797–877), Cath ...

in 1825 and copied again in

Garshuni Garshuni or Karshuni ( Syriac alphabet: , Arabic alphabet: ) are Arabic writings using the Syriac alphabet. The word "Garshuni", derived from the word "grasha" which literally translates as "pulling", was used by George Kiraz to coin the term "gars ...

. He also composed a short grammar book in Syriac in 15 chapters on

etymology Etymology ()The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) – p. 633 "Etymology /ˌɛtɪˈmɒlədʒi/ the study of the class in words and the way their meanings have changed throughout time". is the study of the history of the Phonological chan ...

and

morphology Morphology, from the Greek and meaning "study of shape", may refer to: Disciplines *Morphology (archaeology), study of the shapes or forms of artifacts *Morphology (astronomy), study of the shape of astronomical objects such as nebulae, galaxies, ...

whilst maphrian, before 1699.

Episcopal succession

As maphrian and patriarch, Isaac ordained the following bishops: #Dioscorus Shukr Allah, archbishop of

Gazarta Cizre (; ar, جَزِيْرَة ٱبْن عُمَر, Jazīrat Ibn ʿUmar, or ''Madinat al-Jazira'', he, גזירא, Gzira, ku, Cizîr, ''Cizîra Botan'', or ''Cizîre'', syr, ܓܙܪܬܐ ܕܒܪ ܥܘܡܪ, Gāzartā,) is a city in the Cizre Dis ...

(1687) #Timothy Shukr Allah, archbishop of Amida (1690) #Severus Malke, archbishop of the monastery of Saint Matthew (1694) #Athanasius Murad, archbishop of

(1695) #Timothy ‘Ata Allah, bishop of Edessa (1699) # Dionysius Shukr Allah, archbishop of

Aleppo )), is an adjective which means "white-colored mixed with black". , motto = , image_map = , mapsize = , map_caption = , image_map1 = ...

(1709) #

Basil Lazarus III Basil Lazarus III was the Syriac Orthodox Maphrian of the East from 1709 until his death in 1713. Biography Iyawannis Lazarus was ordained bishop of Mansuriyya by Patriarch Ignatius Abdulmasih I in 1684, in which year he later also attended the ...

(1709) #Basil Simon II,

Maphrian The Maphrian ( syr, ܡܦܪܝܢܐ, maphryānā or ''maphryono''), originally known as the Grand Metropolitan of the East and also known as the Catholicos, was the second-highest rank in the ecclesiastical hierarchy of the Syriac Orthodox Church, ...

(1710) #John of

, archbishop of the monastery of Saint Abhai, Gargar, and Ḥisn Manṣūr (1712) #

Basil Matthew II Basil Matthew II was the Syriac Orthodox Maphrian of the East from 1713 until his death in 1727. Biography Matthew was born at Mosul in the 17th century, and was the son of Maqdisi Lazarus. He had a brother named Isaac. Matthew became a monk at ...

(1713) #Gregorius Job, archbishop of the monastery of Saint Abhai (1714) #Timothy ’Isa, archbishop of monastery of Saint Ananias and

(1718) #Severus Elias,

archbishop of Edessa Early bishops The following list is based on the records of the ''Chronicle of Edessa'' (to ''c''.540) and the ''Chronicle of Zuqnin''. Jacobite (Syriac) bishops These bishops belonged to the Syriac Orthodox Church. During the later period there ...

(1718) #Dioscorus Aho, archbishop of

(1718) #Gregorius ‘Abd al-Ahad, archbishop of Jerusalem (1719) #Iyawannis Karas, archbishop of the monastery of Saint Behnam (1722) #Basil George, archbishop (1722)

References

Notes Citations

Bibliography

* * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ignatius Isaac II People from Mosul Syriac Patriarchs of Antioch from 512 to 1783 1647 births 1724 deaths Assyrians from the Ottoman Empire 18th-century Oriental Orthodox archbishops 17th-century Oriental Orthodox archbishops Maphrians Prisoners and detainees of the Ottoman Empire Syriac writers Oriental Orthodox bishops in the Ottoman Empire 18th-century writers from the Ottoman Empire 17th-century writers from the Ottoman Empire